Tim Paine bowls slow-off break; picks up a wicket with a half-tracker

Tim Paine, the Australian Test skipper, is mostly known for his batting prowess, his leadership skills, and his keeping abilities. As far as bowling is concerned, he’s not known for rolling his arms over. In his career, which has spanned nearly 16 years, Paine has bowled only 36 balls where he conceded 23 runs. In those overs, the 36-year-old couldn’t pick up a wicket.

However, the veteran tried his hands in bowling during the men’s grade division cricket in Australia. In the final of the Cricket Tasmania Premier League, Paine bowled slow-off breaks, representing the University of Tasmania in their match against North Hobart at the Blundstone Arena.  In the first innings, Paine bowled 10 overs and conceded as many as 60 runs.

Tim Paine adds to the wickets’ column

Moreover, he also picked up a wicket. In fact, he ended a dangerous 114-run partnership between Tom Rogers and Caleb Jewell. Rogers was batting on 52 runs with two fours and a six, and he saw the ball like a football. But he couldn’t get hold of a half-tracker. Paine bowled one in the middle of the pitch and Rogers went for a full-blooded pull over mid-wicket.

But the batsman didn’t find the middle of the bat and holed out to B Kenzie. Jewell, on the other hand, went on to score 112 runs off 105 balls with eight fours and one six. Paine had a rough day with the bat as he got out for a 13-ball nine.

Here’s the video:

PAINE HAS A WICKET! His off-spin ends a 114 run partnership between Caleb Jewell and Tom Rogers.

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Paine, recently, played in the four-match Test series against India that the hosts lost by a margin of 1-2. Paine was the Player of the Match in the Adelaide Test that the home team won by eight wickets.

His unbeaten 73 in the second innings was important in setting up the win for the Aussies. But from there on, Paine and Australia’s fortunes changed. They lost in Melbourne and Brisbane to squander the early advantage.

Paine’s own form with the bat also dipped. To add insult to injury, Paine was also a recipient of severe criticism after his altercation with Ravi Ashwin. During the Sydney Test, he used an abusive tone when Ashwin was batting and he had to face heat for his behaviour.